Pay It Forward Day

Today is, apparently, Pay it Forward Day. So if you pay it forward do you step forward and take credit for it or just quietly let your actions speak for themselves? I’ve decided it will

Happenstance

I remember once, when I was about 13 or 14, flying to Vancouver Island with my mom. We saw people she knew in Calgary and Vancouver. I was like “what the heck?”; we lived in a small farming community so how could my mom know so many people?

Fast forward to my kids going anywhere with me when they were teenagers. It kind of drove them a bit crazy that I would find people whom I knew to stop and visit with.

Flying thousand of miles away should probably have prevented that. Or so you

Fingers crossed

I may have jinxed myself with yesterday’s post about first time out and things turning out exceptionally well.

Today I’m also trying something for the first time and feeding the results to friends! Hence the fingers crossed! I don’t have a plan B for supper so let’s hope.

The story begins a couple of years ago when my friend’s dad gave us some beans. He grows them and then dries them and shells them out. So this year I planted some of his and after we ate them fresh and green I let the plants continue. I pulled, dried and finally shelled them in a post called Side tracked

They’ve been patiently waiting for me to remember to soak them on a weekend night and have the day for them to simmer. First I checked with my mom for a recipe but it turns out that’s doctored up canned beans was the norm although she did hand write out a receipe for her granddaughter’s shower gift. I then turned to my two favourite on line sites only to find out they both used canned beans to create their baked beans.

So I just picked the first three hits, read the reviews, picked one (Genius kitchen which I’ve used before) and set about making it. They have to soak overnight in cold water; the next morning they are boiled in clean water for 10 minutes. While they were simmering on the stove I made the sauce for them; a modification here and there like less sugar and a jalapeno. Then I put them in the oven and walked away for several hours. We did have to adjust fluid levels a few times but I am happy to report they were cooked after 6 hours and the sauce was absolutely spot on!

So first time lucky but it sure won’t be the last time we have them. It takes pre planning but it is neither hard nor complex just time consuming for the cooking part. It was a casual meal for sure but paired with good friends and lively conversation and a brew it went down well.

Bernie

A for Effort

There are so many possible titles for today’s blog. A for Effort, Honour versus Defeat or A “Bum”mer on Powder Day.

The background story goes like this

Mountain Time

One of the best part of social media are the photos that accompany travel posts. It allows us to live vicariously through our friends trips. It gives us a glimpse into a culture and geography that we

Powder Day

Apparently epic is the second most over used word in the English language, right next to fail. Like epic fail falls under the things to not say.

So I will go to other words like extreme, exhausting, exhilarating, enjoyable, enviable (at least to all my skiing friends), invigorating (which sounds like it should start with an E) and exhausting.

Haiti happens

It’s a day of mixed emotions for me as Saskatoon Team Broken Earth leaves for another medical mission in Haiti. I was disappointed that by the time the

Bell Let’s Talk

Today shouldn’t be any different from any other day. There shouldn’t be a stigma to mental health. There should be adequate funding and resources. It should not be the elephant in the room at family or friend gatherings.

For this culture to change WE all have to address it. WE can’t

Off Kilter Perspective

There are times in life when the day goes off kilter and you never saw it coming. For times like that you need to remind yourself of perspective and the bigger picture.

Or take an off kilter

Creative Tradition

It feels so good to block book some creative time and then be inspired by the friends and fabric.

The tradition is that when my other